


College AU: Study Break

by catsandspacestuff



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, I know hes like 50 or whatever but its MY au and I get to have whatever fun I want, Promptober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-12-01 19:08:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20870009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catsandspacestuff/pseuds/catsandspacestuff
Summary: College AUZane is a Mechanical Engineer major and my OC Kai is a Zoology major. They share some classes early on in their college education and end up becoming study partners. Feelings grow but they don't say anything cause they're dumb. Here's a coming to a head of those feelings. Enjoy!





	College AU: Study Break

**Author's Note:**

> I'm doing a version of Promtober where as long as I'm working on something every day I take it as a win. I'm gonna do lots of small stuff like this for this month. Some of it will be with my OC, some won't. 
> 
> Thanks for the feedback btw! I appreciate everyone who reads through my stuff. You guys honestly get me to write more. It means the world to me!

“I’m gonna fail this feckin’ class.” Zane groaned, removing his patch to rub both palms into his eyes causing stars to burst behind his eyelids. 

“No you’re not.” Kai laughed, setting her notebook aside onto the coffee table. She watched as he ran his hands over his face with an exasperated noise before finally looking at her. He blinked, getting used to the change in his depth perception without the enhancement to his left eye. Shooting her a look that told her he didn’t believe her, she smiled before scooting closer to him on the couch.

“Look, you just need to find  _ your  _ version of studying.” 

“What does that mean?” he mumbled with a frown. The urge to run her thumb between his brows to soften the line there bubbled up within her. Instead, she picked at the sleeve of her flannel, not wanting to cross a boundary she didn’t know was there or not. 

Little Crow and Flynt had shared a total of three classes in the past two semesters; each shared courses between their two majors. From day one he’d been a flirt, but she had assumed that was just how he was. Zane was friendly and he liked to fluster people. It was just how he interacted with the world. Unfortunately for her, she’d fallen for his personality, his good looks being an added bonus. Yet she assumed it was one sided, so she accepted their being study partners as her fate, even as FL4K assured her it was more. They were just friends- friends who happened to spend almost all of their awake time together and even the occasional night after drinks. Nothing had gone farther than snuggling up to watch a movie and, as much as her heart ached for more, she was just happy to have him in her life. 

“Well, for example, I can memorize songs really easily. So, sometimes when I’m having a particularly hard time getting a subject, I’ll make up a song so I can cement it into my brain easier.” Instantly, the blonde smiled, giving her cause to blush. “What?”

“That’s adorable! I’m just picturin’ ye singin’ about animal anatomy ‘r some shite.” he teased, poking her in the side and causing her to lurch forward. 

“Shut up, it works!” Kai giggled, batting his hands away as he tried to tickle her again. 

“Oh, I don’t doubt ye. I just think y’re also a huge nerd who loves t’sing about y’r favorite topics.” Flynt caught her hands with his own, the desire to thread their fingers together and bring her into him rising. Instead, he let her slide her hands away, the action a bit slower than he expected before she retaliated by getting just under his ribs. The blonde snorted before covering his stomach so she couldn’t tickle him back. 

It was a dance he didn’t mind participating in. He had figured she had wanted to take things slow by her actions over the months they had spent together. In all honesty, he hadn’t exactly minded. It allowed him to get to know her in a far more intimate way. However, now that they were coming up on midterms in the final class they would share together, he felt a panic at leaving the feelings he had unsaid. He knew it was manifesting itself in his studies, his grades falling a tick, yet he couldn’t figure out the best way to tell her. 

“Says the dweeb who’s room consists of mostly robot parts.” Little Crow shot back with a raise of an eyebrow, loving the way the laugh lines around his eyes were accentuated as he grinned at her. It wasn’t often she got the treat of seeing both of his eyes, the only times being when they went swimming or late at night when he was settling in. In truth she thought his blind eye was rather pretty, the milky white highlighting the blue of his other. She had told him so once, the image of the blush that had painted his face burned into her memory. 

“All those parts are important! Gotta build the best little ‘bot I can. It’s gonna have turrets one day, y’know.”

“I know, and bombs, right? ‘Cause that won’t get you kicked outta those ‘bot fights you participate in.” 

“Hey, if ye don’t get banned from a place, can ye say ye really lived?” Flynt stated smugly, leaning back as he stretched his arms above his head. 

“That mentality means we can’t go to those two bars in town.” she pointed out with a smile, earning her a shrug. 

“Those places are stuffy anyways. The Salty Skag is  _ way  _ better. Plus, they let FL4K bring their pet.” She couldn’t argue with him on that. “Speakin’ o’which, we should go get a pint, f’rget this study garbage.” he proposed with a sly look. 

“Do you even  _ want  _ to pass midterms?” she sighed, shaking her head as he dropped his arms and leaned back in towards her. His hands snaked along the outside of her thighs before long finger hooked into a pair of belt loops on her jeans. The action sent a wave of butterflies through her stomach, dark eyes flashing from his hands back to his face. 

“C’mon, we’ve been studin’ f’r f’rever! We deserve a break.” he purred, making note of the soft blush that was forming on her cheeks. 

“It’s been, like, 45 minutes.” she scoffed, doing her best to not reveal how flustered he was making her. 

“Yeah, exactly, f’rever.” Zane whined, shifting forward. He let go of her pants before shifting, kicking his feet out from under him to lay on his stomach. Placing his head in her lap, he turned himself onto his side, turning his head so he could look up at her. Kai rolled her eyes as he grinned up at her, her fingers coming to scratch their way through his hair. Flynt gave a satisfied hum before closing his eyes. 

“You’re such a brat.” she mumbled, giving his hair a slight tug. The blonde bit his bottom lip, cracking his good eye open to peer up at her. 

“Y’love me.” he responded quietly. She responded with a laugh, stifling her desire to agree with him. 

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment as she ran her fingers through his hair. Her attention slid to the view out the window opposite the couch. Outside, the leaves from the neighboring trees fell, their orangy colors reminding them of the fall season. It was the only real indicator, the heat not letting up at all. Pulling her gaze from the window, she looked down at the man on her lap, surprised to find his eyes already on her. A blush tinted his cheeks, the pink stark against his skin tone. She gave him a smile, laughing nervously. 

“What is it?”

“Nothin’.” he lied, his heartbeat quickening as she tilted her head to the side a bit, a clear sign that she didn’t believe him. His stomach flipped on itself as she ran the tip of her index finger along the shell of his ear, her smile softening a bit. “Y’re just…” Zane swallowed back his nerves, his arm coming up to wrap awkwardly around her waist. “Y’re really pretty.” 

“Maybe we have been studying too long.” she joked, deflecting his compliment. 

“Hey, I mean it.” The blonde shifted, letting go of her in order to push up into a sitting position. “Ye really are. Distractin’ly so.” Kai shrank back slightly, looking away from him as she shook her head. 

“That’s not funny, Zane.” Her tone had changed, quiet defensiveness coming through. 

“I’m not tryin’ t’be funny.” Flynt responded with a frown, leaning forward a bit to try and get her to look at him. 

“Listen, you can’t just  _ do  _ that, alright?” Little Crow grumbled, making a move to pack up her things. His hand came to her wrist, lightly wrapping around it to try and halt her progress. 

“Do what?” As she shook him off, his frown deepened. Trying a different tactic, Zane placed his hand on her knee. “Kai, will ye look at me at least? I don’t understand wh-”

“You can’t just tell me things like you think I’m attractive or that we should do something stupid like run awake together, alright?” she spat, the memory of last night's conversation about them dropping out of college and going somewhere flooding back to him. “You can’t just flirt with me like that. It isn’t fair.” She had stopped her packing for the moment, her eyes still glued to her backpack.

“Wh- Kai...” Zane shook his head, hand leaving her knee to push loose hair from her face. The motion worked to get her to look at him. The look in her eyes told him she was ready to run. If he wanted to clear this up, he needed to do it then and now. No more waiting for a ‘perfect moment’, only the right one. 

“Kai, ‘m not  _ ‘just flirtin’’ _ with ye. I like ye. A lot.” Flynt let the words hang between them for a moment as she opened and closed her mouth a couple times, trying to comprehend what was happening. 

“I-what do you mean?” she squeaked, frowning as she studied his face for any sign of deception. Zane fought back the urge to laugh as he smiled softly at her. 

“I mean I like ye. I have pretty much since our first day in class t’gether.” With the floodgates open, everything he’d kept to himself came gushing out. “Y’re funny and smart and ye put up with me bullshit. I love how hard ye go at karaoke and how ye can keep up with me drinkin’. Ye encourage me with the things I like t’do and I can’t get enough of hearin’ about what y’enjoy. I love our late night talks and love t’hear about where y’see the future goin’. A-and I wanna be apart of that future…” Zane stopped to suck in a nervous breath, taking in the surprised look on her face. A pit began to form in his stomach as he let his gaze drop to her lap. 

“I-I dunno if I’ve just been readin’ this wrong but-” He was cut off by the feeling of her hands cupping his face. Looking up, he was able to catch her joyful smile before her lips connected with his own. Zane melted into her touch, his own hands reaching for her. He could feel the smile in her kiss, his heart leaping at the sensation as their lips found their rhythm. Kai let go of his face, slender hands sliding down his neck to stop at his chest. The couch dipped as she moved closer to him, pushing their hips together as she did so. Flynt tangled a hand in her hair, his other finding her waist as he fisted the soft fabric of her flannel. Tilting his head slightly, he deepened the kiss, a needy noise escaping her as he did so. 

Her head swam as their lips slid together. Breathing in, she was greeted with the pleasant aroma of his aftershave. His facial hair scraped against her chin adding a delightful burn to their kiss. Feeling bold, she bit gently at his bottom lip, pulling a soft moan from the man that sent a wave of heat through her core. The grip on her shirt tightened as he tugged forward, encouraging her to move closer to him. Obliging his request, she slid her knee onto the couch, framing him with her legs and allowing for them to press up against one another a bit. His fingers left the fabric to roam along her skin just above her jean line, sending goosebumps up her spine. 

Their kiss slowed, allowing both of them to relish the feeling of one another. His chest ached at the softness of her lips, the feeling reminding him of flower petals. Kai couldn’t help but love the way his mustache tickled her upper lip, the sensation so  _ Zane.  _ When they finally broke, Flynt placed his forehead against hers, a small smile coming to his features. 

“God, I’ve been wantin’ t’do that f’r so long.” he hummed. Kai brushed her nose against his, her fingers coming up to play with his goatee. 

“Why didn’t you?” Little Crow asked quietly, pulling back so that she could look a him. His cheeks were flushed, the pink reaching the tops of his ears. She couldn’t help but smile, knowing it was because of her. 

“I thought ye wanted t’move slow.” A confused look flashed across the woman’s face before she started to laugh. Zane found himself smiling, pulling his hand from her hair to find her own. “What? What’s so funny?”

“I thought you were just being nice! I was convinced you didn’t like me.” His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he gave her an incredulous look. “Ask FL4K! I told them that we were just friends over and _over_. I just figured they were full of it when they said that you liked me.” Kai shook her head as he thread their fingers together. “I thought you were a flirt, that I wasn't special...” 

“I mean,  _ yeah,  _ I can be a flirt . But I stopped all that when we met.” Pulling her hand to his lips, he kissed each of her knuckles softly. “I didn’t want anybody else. I wanted t’be with ye.” The look she gave him was filled with adoration, causing his heart to flutter in his chest. Grinning, he couldn’t help but laugh a bit as he pulled their entwined hands to his chest. “Hang on, how th’hell did ye think I wasn’t interested? We  _ literally  _ went t’bed t’gether multiple times.”

“I-I just thought it was ‘cause we’d been drinking and it was late! Plus you got mad when I offered to sleep on the couch.” 

“And the times we did when we were sober?”

“Habit?” At this, Zane threw his head back with laughter. Even though she felt a little ridiculous, Kai couldn’t help but giggle herself. The blonde gave the back of her hand a few more kisses between fits of laughter, shaking his head as he calmed down. 

“If I had known, I woulda cleared the air  _ way  _ sooner. I just figured ye weren’t ready yet.” 

“Are you kidding? I’ve been pining for you like crazy. I’ve been wanting  _ this  _ since our first semester together.” she admitted, her cheeks heating up once again. He gave her a sly smile as he pulled her back into him. Little Crow bit her bottom lip, her free hand coming to grab one of the open side of his jacket. 

“Sounds like we need t’make up f’r some lost time then.” Flynt purred as he let go of her hand to wrap both arms around her waist. 

“Shouldn’t we be studying?’ she teased, walking her fingers up his chest as her dark eyes fell to his lips. 

“We will be. Just a different kind.” Zane grinned as she giggled, the tips of their noses brushing together one last time before they kissed each other once more. 


End file.
